Dispensing tube



y 29, 1952 s. M. CROCE ETAL 18 DISPENSING TUBE Filed Oct. 5, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTORJ Jan/y N. Croce and Pascal D, Croce fl, B)

Wr/LMZ ATTORNEYS s. M. CROCE ETAL July 29, 1952 DISPENSING TUBE 2' SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed 001;. 5, 1949 54 mm mm m .N.

x Pascal 0. croce 5r I MM, QaWrE/y7 ATTOAWBIS Patented July 29, 1952 UNITED .s TATES PATENT fl;

AppIicatiOhOC tObeifi, 1949, Serial No. 119,616

This invention relatesto dispensing tubes such as are commonly used for the storing anddispensing of shaving cream, tooth paste, adhesive, and other extrudable and more or less viscous products.

It isa primary object of the invention to provide a tube which can be producedat less expense, and which will serve the required purpose more efficiently and satisfactorily, than tubes of conventional construction.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple and inexpensivepro'cess of'manu facturing the novel tube in the interest of economy of production. I

The conventional dispensing tube is made from lead or aluminum which has been extruded into the shape desired. The materials used are com 'paratively expensive,- and; because oftheir chemical nature make necessary the extra. step of coating the interior of the tube with a protective wax or lacquer. This is necessary in the care of V 3, Claims; (014122-107) lead because lead islikely to" render poisonous any food, drug, or cosmetic packedin it. The coating isnecessary in the case of aluminum because aluminum is readily attacked and eroded by materials which are even slightly acid or slightly alkaline. These metallic tubes addi tionally require coloring by an expensive process for greater sales appeal, and the printingof. a label on the outer surface.

The novel tube of the present invention is made essentially of one or more flexible plastic materials, such as Vinylite, polyethylene, tenite, nylon, Koroseal, Lucite and others similar in their physical characteristics.

The tube wall is desirably formed of inner and outer layers of plastic material with metallic strips or ribbons sealed between them. The metallic strips are manually moldableso that they may be changed in shape and will tendto hold whatever shape they are changed to. They add rigidity to the tube and'they cause the tube not to spring open after it has been rolled up to squeeze out a portion of the contents.

Other objects and advantages-will hereinafter appear. 7 h

In thedrawing forming part of this specification;

Fig; 1 is a plan view broken away intermediate its ends for compactness of illustration, showing anillustrative tube. made in accordance with theinvention and embodying features thereof;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view illustrating the first step in the assemblyof the tube components;

Fig 3 is an edge iiiewshowingi end elevation one; of the composite; sheets which is utiliidifi making; the tube; V 1

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken 'uponlthe line 4 4 of Fig. 1 looking in the diiftidfi fitness: rows, the view being upona arteries-1e" was Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taliii upon theline 5-5 of Fig. 1,.t lie viewbiiig uiiii'n ag reatly enlarged scale} 6 is a sectional view takenupcfi the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 looking in the directioiilb'i arrows; and

Fig-7 is afragmentary view, paruy Brakes away, showing a modified form of tube" ade in accordance with and embodying features of the invention. p

The illustratii ritlib or Figs. 1' t6 6 ifiiiifili'eS a tubular. bcs'dyporticn I and a sneum and neck foriiiaiiiii [which is 1ht'egra1witu'me'b 3*. portion. when the tlib Has been filld'thiiillgli the wiser pen endfthereof, end is nests and sealed by pressing the, opposite walls of? the tube together and uniting 'th'iii in theiregi 3";

The Stlliiltlll of the time" Call Lbf best BX: plaineddetail in conn'ctibriiwith a desc tion of'fl'i firddili renewed iii mak ng tube.

The tube body is made up; oreemmsae. site 4, the fabrication or which is illustrate 2'. Supply reels 5'and"6"furnish webslian 3 fleilible plastic'l ilatrial such asVinym-e; poly: ethylene, tenite, nylon, Koroseal, Lucite etc. which are fd..ifitil fsuperpositiori betivenf'piessurer'oussand, l0.

' Reels ll disposed in spaced l'elaibiofl' ilboirag shaft 2 2 furnish metallic. stri s151*" r bbons; I3 and M' of" manually" monabie; material: fe therii'into the bi'ght or the toners c and l tween the. outer and inner" webs? V l 8 reel lifilfiiish'eS a ihird'web Id of platicf terial, this web being printed in advance a 1abe1; The we I6 is desirably ma to cover and conceal'the'meta 3 and" I4 and w extend-mess} che s tween them; The web l6is'f fedintc th of the rcilerss a ll a'boyelth Web 8 iand-' th of double thickness. sirably heat sealed to the body portion of the sheet. The purpose of this folding over is to provide for an integral shoulder and neck formation having a more massive structure than the walls of the tube body. The reinforcement is desirable because the shoulder and neck portion is relied upon to maintain the sharply defined shape of the tube in service, and must therefore be more resistant to deformation and rupture than the body walls.

Two of the sheets 4, as described, are next heat sealed to one another along their longitudinal edges, and are shaped to tubular form by passing them over a properly shaped die, the resulting structure being substantially as shown in Fig. 4.

The integral shoulder and neck formation is next produced in the section of double thickness by passing the doubled portion into a press which by a combination of heat and pressure form the shoulder 18 and the threaded neck I9.

The shoulder and neck are formed so that the four metallic strips incorporated in the walls of the tube converge in the shoulder and'meet in the neck to cause a circular plastic encased metal neck to be provided. In order that the metal may extend continuously or substantially continuously around the neck, the sum of the widths of the metal strips in the walls of the tube is made substantially equal to the circumference of the neck of the tube. At the formation of the shoulder and neck structure, the excess plastic is caused to flow around the shoulder of the tube and to reinforce it.

The advantages offered by a tube of the kind described are many. The process of manufacture is greatly simplified because such steps as internal coating and external coloring and printing are eliminated. In the conventional type of tube this additional work is done after the tube itself has been completed, and, therefore, necessitates extra handling.

With the tube of the present invention coloring and the printed matter are incorporated into the tube during its manufacture. The labels are sealed in the tube walls as the walls are bein made, and a tube may be made the desired color by making the inner layer of the walls from a colored web of plastic material while making the outer wall from a transparent web of plastic material.

The materials which can be used for metal tubes are necessarily limited, and even those presently in use are undesirable from the point of View of their chemical nature. This obstacle is completely overcome in the tube of the present invention, because the resistance of most plastics to chemical attack is very good, some even being highly resistant to very concentrated acids and alkalis.

Plastics having different properties can be advantageously utilized for the outer and inner layers of the tube, for example, a plastic highly resistant to chemical attack, such as polyethylene, may be employed for forming the inner wall, while a high strength plastic such as nylon may be used for forming the outer wall. Different plastics may be used in combination in some instances to reduce the total cost of the finished tube and in others, to facilitate the manufacturing operations.

The invention also contemplates, however, the

The folded portion is deemployment of the same plastic for the inner and outer Walls as well as for the label.

In Fig. 7 a tube la. of modified construction is illustrated. The body wall 4 is again made up from sheets of composite material, fabricated as described in connection with Figs. 2 and 3.

The sheets of which the body is to be formed are not in this instance provided with any doubled or folded portions, and are simply cut to a length appropriate for use in the tube body. Two of the sheets are united along their edges and expanded to tubular shape as illustrated in Fig. 4.

There is then aifixed to the tube wall by heat and pressure a shoulder and neck formation 2a of molded plastic. The shoulder and neck formation is afilxed to the tube walls at the same time that it is molded to shape. In this type of construction the shoulder lBa and the neck 19a. are without metallic reinforcement, but since they can be made of any thickness desired, it is not a difficult matter to provide a structure having the desired rigidity and strength.

We have described what we believe to be the best embodiments of our invention. We do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiments shown but what we desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a dispensing tube, a body composed of inner and outer layers of plastic material and interposed parallel longitudinally extending manually moldable metallic strips, and a shoulder and neck formation integral with the body, the metallic strips extending through the head and into the neck, and having a combined width equal substantially to the circumference of the neck.

2. A structure as set forth in claim 1 in which said shoulder and neck formation forms a doubled-over area at one end of the body material.

3. In a dispensing device, a body composed of inner and outer layers of plastic material and interposed parallel longitudinally extending manually moldable metallic strips, the inner plastic layer being opaque, the outer plastic layer being transparent, and a printed label included between the inner and outer layers, the metallic strips extending through the head and into the neck and having a combined width equal substantially to the circumference of the neck, said plastic layers and metallic strips presenting a smooth surface on the inside of the neck, and screw threads on the outside.

SANTY M. CROCE. PASCAL D. CROCE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,846,726 Isaacks Feb. 23, 1932 2,176,109 Ratay Oct. 17, 1939 2,269,661 Gurwick Jan. 13, 1942 2,274,258 Roselle Feb. 24, 1942 2,287,259 Lindstrom 1- June 23, 1942 2,430,046 Dreyfus Nov. 4, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 504,359 Great Britain Apr. 24, 1939 

